UNPRECEDENTED

UNPRECEDENTED: By definition, unprecedented means "without previous instance, never before known or experienced."

It is not common in Sweden to have soccer camps.  That is crazy to me because camps are so big in the US.  As a kid, I loved soccer camp; it was the best part of the summer! I decided to put together IFK Gavle's first ever soccer camp.  It is Unprecedented; it has never been done before..

A few of my teammates and I designed camp shirts.  I wanted a great word to describe the camp so with the help of my little sister, she came up with UNPRECEDENTED.

I brought my idea to my coach and we presented the camp to the football association.  They agreed to back the camp and we found many sponsors.  The kids get to come to the camp for free, lunch and a camp shirt is included.  Here is the typical day I created.

9-10:30 Technical session

10:30-11:00 Lunch/Snack

11:00-11:15 Psychological Training

11:15-12:30 A Tactical session that is an expansion of the mornings technical session

12:30-1 Games

 I have over 30 kids coming and a number of my teammates have volunteered to help coach.  My teammates are great role models and the players are going to learn a lot from them on and off the field!

The game is full of many different personalities, creativity, sacrifice, courage..  My goal is to push the players outside of their comfort zones.  My teammates and I are going to demonstrate everything; I want the players to see what it is supposed to look like and then I want them to try and imitate everything we do. I want to put them in a challenging environment and help them find success and most importantly have fun!  

Synonyms of UNPRECEDENTED include unique, extraordinary and exceptional... The camp starts tomorrow and that is exactly what it is going to be!

Nu Kor Vi!!!!

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Dream as if you were to live forever.."

I got a call from the newspaper and they wanted to do an article on me.  I was honored.  They asked me about the season, my role models, the coaching I do in Gavle, my past soccer experiences and the camp I will be running here in Gavle.  It is not common to have a soccer camp in Sweden.  Its a lot of fun organizing and putting together a camp.  I am happy the article mentioned the camp. I want as many kids as possible to come train. I want to spread the love, passion and excitement of the game with as many people as I can.  Here is the link to the article.

http://arbetarbladet.se/sport/fotboll/1.4886983-amerikanskan-som-vill-sprida-sitt-kunnande

*It is in Swedish.  My Swedish is getting better and better every day, but google translate always helps.

We ended the first half of our season on a high note and are in a good position.  Our goal is to win the series.  We have great personalities; everyone brings something to the table.  I believe that my team has what it takes to accomplish our goal.

In other news I have been on a short break.  My sister, Melanie and cousin, Jess came to visit me.  It was an incredible trip.  We explored Stockholm, paddle boated/kayaked, went to the ice bar, shopped, explored Gavle, went to a concert, Melanie turned 18, celebrated the fourth of July, caught up with all of my friends, teammates and so much more.  I was so happy they got to experience my life here in Sweden.  It was definitely an adventure I will never forget and a highlight of the summer so far.  I was sad to see them leave.

Loreen!!

After I dropped them off at the airport a few of my teammates asked me to go on a last minute trip back to Stockholm to see Loreen sing live at AllSang!! They said that they thought it would be a good thing to do after my family left, because they knew that they would be sad if their family had just left after a visit.  It was so nice!!! The show was absolutely incredible. I love random trips like that.  Im lucky to be around such great people!!

  

"thinking about absolutely nothing when it's absolutely necessary"

In Soccer news we had a game verse Gamla Uppsala and won 5-1 and then we ended the first half of the season beating Lidingo 4-3.

 Lidingo was an extremely exciting game.   Lidingo capitalized on their opportunities and scored two goals early on.  We were losing 2-0 in the first half... 2-0 is one of the worst leads in soccer; it is very common to see the team leading by 2 at halftime lose the game at the end.

 At half time we regrouped and came out strong; scoring a goal in just the first five minutes.  Lidingo responded and put another one away making it 3-1.  Everyone kept their heads up, we were patient and we knew our time would come.  In the 80th minute we got a free kick. I played the ball to Sofia who chipped the keeper making it 3-2.  Shortly after we scored again making the score 3-3...

 I looked at the clock and I see that we are in extra time. I got the ball, turned and dribbled towards goal and got taken down from behind right outside the 18.  The ref gave us a free kick. I set the ball down and Sandra our forward came up to me and said, "I want this!!" Looking at her I could see complete focus surrounding her face; she was in the zone that every athlete wants to be in.."thinking about absolutely nothing, when it is absolutely necessary." Her strike was fantastic; straight line, low, placed perfectly and it found the back of the net.  The keeper did not have a chance; it was probably one of the best free kicks I have seen.  We all rushed to Sandra in celebration.  Lidingo rushed the ball to the center circle; right when they kicked off the ref blew the whistle to end the game.  We won with just seconds left on the clock!

One thing I like about my team is that even when we are down we still believe that we are going to win. Every game I have played in with IFK I can just sense this "winning" attitude.  Its a great quality to have as a team.  We don't sulk on mistakes or overdo the success. It is never good to focus on what has pasted.  Its about focusing on the next chance and the next opportunity.  This game was a good ending to the first half of the season.

In other news,  now I have a two week break from soccer. Melanie and my cousin Jess are coming to Sweden and they get here tomorrow!! We are going to explore Stockholm, Gavle, and a few other places.  I am excited to share my Swedish adventure with them!!